1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data conferencing, and more particularly to instant document sharing in a data conference.
2. Related Art
Whenever two or more people are involved in the preparation of a document, whether it be a financial spread sheet, a CAD design, a circuit schematic layout, an organization report, a bit map image, etc., succeeding drafts of the document are prepared, circulated, and modified in the process. Each person annotates his or her remarks on the document and forwards it to the next person. Typically, several drafts of the document will be circulated before a final draft is produced. This is a very time-consuming process.
In the case where the reviewers involved in this document preparation process are at different geographical locations, getting the document from one location to another location and back becomes another tedious and time-consuming task. The document must be mailed or faxed to that person, further complicating the entire process.
One alternative method to this process is to hold meetings where the reviewers gather and comment on the document with the hope to reduce the number of drafts needed before a final draft is produced. The shortcoming with this method is that there may be significant travel time and travel cost in getting everyone to the same location. In addition, the final draft of the document is usually circulated again for final comments.
One solution to this problem is to use a teleconferencing software program to share the document among the geographically dispersed reviewers. This process is often referred to as xe2x80x9cdata conferencing.xe2x80x9d By using computer network connections, modem-connected phone lines, and the like, everyone can be connected via his or her computer. By using the teleconferencing software program, everyone""s computer screen displays the same document. In addition to using the software program and network or modem connections, conference calling over the voice phone lines or through the software program creates a dynamic and live atmosphere where everyone can participate in the discussion and refer to the document displayed on the screen.
The present invention is an apparatus, method, and computer program product for instant document sharing. In one embodiment, referred to as xe2x80x9cdocument sharing,xe2x80x9d a file is converted to a xe2x80x9cshared documentxe2x80x9d which is distributed to the members of a data conference for review. The method of this embodiment includes printing the file, on a local computer, to a virtual printer from an application associated with the file, thereby creating the shared document; and sending the shared document to one or more remote computers, where the shared document is displayed by a viewer application.
In another embodiment, referred to as xe2x80x9capplication viewing,xe2x80x9d the xe2x80x9cownerxe2x80x9d of a document shares the screens created by an application associated with the document. The other members of the data conference can view the screens, but cannot interact with the application. Only the owner can interact with the application. The method of this embodiment includes invoking the application on a local computer, thereby generating an application screen. The application screen is sent to a virtual device, thereby creating a xe2x80x9cshared screen.xe2x80x9d The shared screen is sent to a remote server for distribution to remote computers, where the shared screen is displayed by a viewer application. The user of the local computer (referred to as the xe2x80x9cownerxe2x80x9d) provides user input while editing the shared screen. The user input drives the application to edit the application screen based on the user input. In response, the application provides an application screen update. The application screen update is sent to the virtual device, thereby creating a shared screen update. The shared screen update is sent to the remote server for distribution to the remote computers, thereby updating the display of the application screen by the viewer applications.
In another embodiment, referred to as xe2x80x9capplication sharing,xe2x80x9d the xe2x80x9cownerxe2x80x9d of a document shares the screens created by an application associated with the document. The other members of the data conference can view the screens and interact with the application. The method of this embodiment includes invoking the application on a local computer, generating an application screen. The application screen is sent to a virtual device, creating a shared screen. The shared screen is sent to a remote server for distribution to the remote computers used by the members of the data conference, where the shared screen is displayed by a viewer application. The members edit the shared screen, thereby generating user input that is sent to the local computer. The user input drives the application to edit the application screen based on the user input. In response, the application provides an application screen update. The application screen update is sent to the virtual device, thereby creating a shared screen update. The shared screen update is sent to the remote server for distribution to the remote computers, thereby updating the display of the application screen by the viewer applications.
In all embodiments, an annotation mode is available, where a transparent window is displayed over the shared document. Users can create objects to be displayed in the transparent window, thereby annotating the document.
One advantage of the present invention is that, by sharing documents in a client-server system, it provides robust, scalable, instant document sharing.
Further features and advantages of the present invention as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.